Strategic Women in Leadership Programme

This programme has been designed specifically to assist women in management positions to better manage, lead and gain leverage within their organisations.

CELEBRATING 17 YEARS OF SUCCESS IN EDUCATING WOMEN LEADERS!!

Programme Introduction

During these challenging times, when business is changing on all fronts, it is imperative for businesses to develop new leaders, to assist them in realising their potential, both for their company's success, and for the future of leadership in South Africa. The STRATEGIC WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP PROGRAMME has been run at Wits Business School and Milpark Business School. The programme has been designed specifically to assist women in management positions to better manage, lead and gain leverage within their organisations.

The programme's unique educational environment is both powerful and inspirational because it operates on several different levels. As an analytical experience; the focus is on learning innovative leadership competencies. On a developmental level, the result is transformational, as participants step back and reflect on what key issues mean to them as individuals and professionals. The experience is also creative, with participants exchanging personal experiences and insights. Equally significant is the strong connective component. A supportive and energised setting promotes peer-to-peer learning through ongoing interchange amongst accomplished female executives.

Access to coaching and mentoring which is essential for female leaders' personal and professional growth.

A valuable business network of other senior women

Enhanced personal confidence and competence

A personal mastery and branding strategy which will enable female participants to shatter their own glass ceilings.

STRATEGIC WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP COURSE CONTENT

STRATEGIC THINKING IN A GLOBAL BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT

Many emerging leaders have focused their career in one industry and have worked their way up the ladder through the ranks. The result has been an excellent understanding of how their industry works, but with little understanding of where it fits in the global environment.

Outcomes

Engage with strategy tools that assist in fostering innovation

Apply models to identify and prioritise the key opportunities to take your organisation into the future

Develop future scenarios

Review and update your organisation's vision and strategic intent

Be able to develop operational strategies to realise your organisation's vision

Understand ways to manage and measure organisation change

BEING STRATEGIC ABOUT YOUR CAREER

This module is designed to focus women's attention on their career, what stage of their career they are in, and how to develop a long-term career plan which will ensure they achieve their latent potential. In other words it equips them to break through the "glass ceiling"!

An understanding of the competencies required at the executive level;

An ability to differentiate the inward and operational focus of the level 3 manager vs. the strategic view of the level 5 executive;

An ability to identify the strategic elements of business problems at the executive level and apply the appropriate leadership and management strategies to address these strategic issues.

Practical skills will also be gained in:

Environmental scanning;

Redefining stakeholders;

The importance of picking the right lieutenants

PERSONAL MASTERY FOR LEADERS IN A DIVERSE AND TRANSFORMATIONAL SOCIETY

Maximise your personal power by focusing on your unique individuality

Eliminate self-sabotage and replace self sacrifice with self development

A personal brand is a promise of what an individual delivers in the work they perform.

Well established marketing brands eg. Coke or Levis are reliable and consistent, yet also reinvent themselves regularly. People need to adapt these same branding strategies to themselves, constantly updating their skills and capabilities to adjust to the changing business environment. Branding oneself is often difficult for women because they have a natural tendency to want to blend in and not stand out in any way. A well developed personal brand ensures that an individual's visibility and exposure are maximised in the corporate world.

The aim of this module is to provide emerging women leaders with:

The ability to develop their own personal branding strategy.

Understand the value of building ones brand.

The branding tools to raise their visibility and credibility

NEGOTIATION COMPETENCE

Many women suffer from an inability to "ask" for what they want. Some feel uncomfortable discussing financial issues for example, and requesting what they want in an effective manner.

This module is designed to show the female manager that everything is negotiable! This will be done though simulated exercises which are aimed at:

Showing how to plan a negotiation strategy and determine the desired outcome.

How to focus on interests (i.e. the desired outcome) and not the personal side of things such as people or position.

Determining the climate of negotiation.

Identifying the types of negotiations.

Identifying the negotiation phases.

Learning to prepare and bargain.

Understanding positions of power and leverage.

Understanding human dynamics.

POLITICAL ACUMEN IN THE WORLD OF BUSINESS

A non-political corporate environment would be a very rare find. Unfortunately playing politics can be both time consuming and demoralizing.

This module will:

Give the female manager an understanding of the dynamics of competing agendas.

Differentiate between power and politics and influence.

Identify the rules so that you can understand and manage the game.

Assist in using corporate politics to benefit your performance and your career

NETWORKING COMPETENCE

In effect this module provides women with the skills to ' make their connections count'.

The aims of the module are to:

Provide an understanding the power and necessity of networking.

Provide a format to evaluate the female manager's personal and professional networking philosophy and resource base.

Learn the how-to of effective networking to forge alliances with key stakeholders within the organisation and externally in industry.

Develop a complete Networking strategy

Expand your business network

ASSERTIVE LIVING

In order to live assertively, it is essential that we hold the belief that conflict has the potential to resolve tension in relationships. When this skill is practiced astutely, with conviction and balanced energies its impact is nothing short of miraculous.

Traditionally people leave executive development programmes feeling invigorated, but find it difficult to sustain this in the business environment. The STRATEGIC WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP PROGRAMME addresses this issue by including a coaching component as part of the core course content. Each delegate will have access to various coaches in fields such as strategy, finance, leadership and people management.

VALUE ADDS

Book by Dr Renate Volpe:

Lessons from the school of hard knocks

Leadership Kit which consists of 5 sets user friendly prompt cards in the following areas: